Searching for a dark deck

[Niobium]

14 hours ago, Page of Ghosts said:

Heh, the Lubanko deck had some art I associated with my hard limit for gruesome imagery - it´s too dark for me actually 😅 otherwise it´s a beautiful deck, and perhaps the most interesting of the bunch you mentioned, but I can´t see myself with a deck that brings up such bad emotions. Sigh. Really like the inktober deck too but it´s a bit too pricy for me, sadly, so the quest continues.

 

All good--those are definitely some on the sharper end of the spectrum, let's say, and definitely not for everyone. Did someone already mention the Dark Wood Tarot? Same artist as the Nightmare Before Christmas, but the minors are fully illustrated. Mass Market so not too costly.

[Page of Ghosts]

On 3/14/2021 at 8:31 PM, LogicalHue said:

 

I think if it weren't Schiffer publishing I would already have it. I have a couple of Schiffer decks and I can't shuffle them, the cards are thick and glossy and edge-gilded and they're all scuffed up from what little I do use them. Plus the box is gigantic and that annoys me. I tried to get many copies of Ostara Tarot and not one was without significant physical flaws (nor were the sizes consistent so I couldn't mix and match). Not a Schiffer fan. End mini-rant  

 

I do have Nicoletta Ceccoli and I like it a lot. The artworks weren't made as a tarot deck but I think it's done very well and I read well with it.

 

Your rant is appreciated! I have the Ostara Tarot and it's on its way out of my collection. There are two artists I prefer in that deck with one big favourite and while I like it, it's not a deck I truly adore like several others in my collection. I had some issues with it when I first got it, like the cards being stuck to each other because of the gilding, and then a whole mess with glitter everywhere once I performed a dedicated ritual of bending the whole deck back and forth to separate the cards 😅 I think the glitter situation is over now to the relief whoever it ends up with when I get around to rehoming it 😉

 

Anyway, Ostara issues aside I looked more into the Shadowland Tarot and I think I will pass on it for now. Not all the artwork resonated with me and I also am not a fan of the big boxes. I recently moved all my decks in big boxes to little poches, placed the books on my shelf and put the boxes in my closet. Luckily it was only 3 or 4 boxes but they do take up a lot of space and it's such a hassle to take out the deck for readings - yes I am lazy like that! I enjoy riffle shuffling so I've run into some trouble with decks that have extremely thick cardstock - I don't know if it's the popularity of indie decks that has made this such a big thing in recent years? I prefer that my cards don't have a flimsy feel to them, but I also enjoy my preferred method of shuffling them. I'm getting off topic, but the point is I believe you about Schiffer so I will look for something else. The Ceccoli Tarot has my interest after all these years still so it is near the top of my list. I am a bit skeptical about decks with art not made specifically for tarot as sometimes it comes across as shoe-horned or downright baffling (perhaps I have not had the best luck with them so far!), but from the cards I've seen it has some interesting takes. I think one of those full flip-through videos are in order 😊

Edited March 16, 2021 by Page of Ghosts

[Page of Ghosts]

On 3/14/2021 at 11:27 PM, Niobium said:

 

All good--those are definitely some on the sharper end of the spectrum, let's say, and definitely not for everyone. Did someone already mention the Dark Wood Tarot? Same artist as the Nightmare Before Christmas, but the minors are fully illustrated. Mass Market so not too costly.

 

I think it has been mentioned already, but if not I've come across it in my research. From a quick look it seems like it might be too close of a RWS clone, which I'm not as into anymore as I used to be (RWS system, yes! A very close clone in its imagery, not so much), but it is sitting comfortably in the research pile to be closer looked at 🙂

[Page of Ghosts]

On 3/14/2021 at 10:47 AM, Mokona said:

@Page of Ghosts You should check out the Tarot of Curiosities in case it's up your alley. Another deck I suggest you check out has a dark medieval thing going with imps and monsters, it's the Serpent and Peacock Tarot. Mass-market decks I can think of are the Hush Tarot and Lisa Hunt's Ghosts and Spirits Tarot. 

 

 

Thank you, both of these indies are great options. I love weird medieval art 😄 And the devil in the Tarot of Curiosities with all the teeth - so good.

[Page of Ghosts]

On 3/14/2021 at 8:53 PM, Queen of Nothing said:

If you're looking for spooky and creepy childhood nostalgia, may I recommend the Ritual Abuse tarot? The artwork is based on Scary Stories to Tell in The Dark, so definitely spooky and nostalgic, and a little unsettling too, if you read those as a kid. You can look at the artwork here (https://ryansheffieldart.com/tarot/) and there's a link to buy. I absolutely adore this deck.

 

This one is pretty cool too. We didn't have Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark in Norway when I grew up, at least not in my small village by a fjord. We did have Goosebumps though! I loved the covers of those things, especially the glittery ones. Not sure if those were exclusively for the choose your own adventure-series, but they were amazing to look at 🤩

[Page of Ghosts]

So far I am enjoying my app version of the Tarot of Vampyres. I've used the daily card-option since the weekend and it has been pretty accurate. I enjoy that the text from the book is included - it seems to be a more well-thought out deck than I initially thought (not just pretty pictures) and yet some of the cards need the extra explanation about what is happening for me to understand the image. Some of them are very action-oriented and other I feel are a bit too static, so the guidebook really helps with that. I need some more time to decide if I want the physical version or not, but so far it has exceeded my expectations. It might be time for a proper reading in the app today 😈

[cosita]

I just remembered that Tarot by Duck Soup has the Crooked Way Gothic tarot. It makes me think of a big clan of people that could be related to the Addams Family.

[LogicalHue]

5 hours ago, Page of Ghosts said:

I looked more into the Woodland Tarot and I think I will pass on it for now. Not all the artwork resonated with me and I also am not a fan of the big boxes.

 

As far as a quick google there's no such thing as the Woodland Tarot (which is sort of shocking). You may have been looking at Wildwood tarot which is a whole different system and does come in a bigger box I think. The Wooden Tarot is in a "normal" size box, doesn't come with a guidebook, very good shuffle-able card stock even though its indie. Bit more expensive than mass-produced. Of course you may look at it and think "well that artwork appeals to me even less!". 😁 Which is totally fine! But you can preview all the cards at a pretty nice size on that website which I really appreciate.

 

I also don't understand why indie decks mean thicker cardstock so often. I just got Oak Ash and Thorn recently, and the creators have already started making a second deck and mentioned that they'll be sticking with the same cardstock because of the "rave reviews" they've been getting about it. Right now its in the category of "I stop shuffling when my hands hurt too much to keep shuffling", and I've already damaged them a bit.

[LogicalHue]

1 hour ago, cosita said:

It makes me think of a big clan of people that could be related to the Addams Family.

Oh this just reminded me of a deck I can't believe hasn't been mentioned but I can't remember the name! Its new but very popular, I think comes in a deluxe edition or bigger version or something. Everything kind of looks like Tim Burton. The people are highly stylized like that with the super thin bodies and big heads. Someone must know what I'm talking about!

 

Anyway in trying to find it I was also reminded of the Edgar Allen Poe Tarot which seems worth a look!

[Page of Ghosts]

46 minutes ago, LogicalHue said:

 

As far as a quick google there's no such thing as the Woodland Tarot (which is sort of shocking). You may have been looking at Wildwood tarot which is a whole different system and does come in a bigger box I think. The Wooden Tarot is in a "normal" size box, doesn't come with a guidebook, very good shuffle-able card stock even though its indie. Bit more expensive than mass-produced. Of course you may look at it and think "well that artwork appeals to me even less!". 😁 Which is totally fine! But you can preview all the cards at a pretty nice size on that website which I really appreciate.

 

I also don't understand why indie decks mean thicker cardstock so often. I just got Oak Ash and Thorn recently, and the creators have already started making a second deck and mentioned that they'll be sticking with the same cardstock because of the "rave reviews" they've been getting about it. Right now its in the category of "I stop shuffling when my hands hurt too much to keep shuffling", and I've already damaged them a bit.

 

Yeah... this is enterely my fault. My brain did a thing and invented an imaginary deck when I really meant the Shadowland Tarot 😅 I will edit the post. Maybe one day we will have an actual Woodland Tarot - it's a catchy name at least!

 

The Wooden Tarot has been around for a while now, hasn't it? I really liked it ages ago when I first saw it, but it's been a while. Might be time to revisit it.

[Page of Ghosts]

57 minutes ago, LogicalHue said:

Oh this just reminded me of a deck I can't believe hasn't been mentioned but I can't remember the name! Its new but very popular, I think comes in a deluxe edition or bigger version or something. Everything kind of looks like Tim Burton. The people are highly stylized like that with the super thin bodies and big heads. Someone must know what I'm talking about!

 

Anyway in trying to find it I was also reminded of the Edgar Allen Poe Tarot which seems worth a look!

 

The Dark Mansion Tarot? I have it on my unofficial list 😁

[LogicalHue]

5 minutes ago, Page of Ghosts said:

 

The Dark Mansion Tarot? I have it on my unofficial list 😁

Yes! Thank you!!

[Page of Ghosts]

4 hours ago, cosita said:

I just remembered that Tarot by Duck Soup has the Crooked Way Gothic tarot. It makes me think of a big clan of people that could be related to the Addams Family.

 

Ok, this is in the top tier for sure! I looked into their Trick or Tarot but I was thinking it might be too Halloweenie for someone who lives in a country where we don't have much of a tradition for Halloween, although I enjoy the aestethics of the season. Now this deck is more up my alley - I'm very excited about this one 😁

[Page of Ghosts]

OK everyone, I compiled a list of all the decks suggested in this thread plus many I came across during my personal research, looked at their images and added some organized commentary from my chaotic brain to make sense of things. From the 49(!) decks we came up with I have ended up with 3 currently available decks I feel an affinity for as a darker-themed deck option for me 😁 I know I am a picky person and this felt like such a challenge - there are so many different types of dark decks for all kinds of readers with different taste in artwork. I appreciate everyone's input! I am very happy that I have 3 decks on my wishlist that I'll be picking up as soon as possible. 2 are indie decks and since they are more expensive I really need to be sure I resonnate with them before dropping my precious kroner on them, and I'm so glad these do. 

 

My favourites:

 

- Tarot of Vampyres (Llewellyn mass-market production): I've had a lot of fun with the app and I've come to enjoy the deck a lot more than I initially thought. The 90's Buffy and The Crow vibes makes me very happy. My only issue is that I did an amazing reading that I didn't understand how to save so I lost it, and I don't remember all the cards in their positions 😭 The Daughter of Scepters was the hidden Key to the whole reading, so at least I know the sort-of-conclusion to it, even if the rest is lost to the ether. A physical deck is definetely more useful, even if I think I know how to save the reading now - add it to the journal. Not in a rush for a physical copy (Llewellyn cardstock is not my favourite, but I adore my Froud's Faeries Oracle deck which has equally, if not even more flimsy cardstock so the power of love will transcend this issue, it seems!) unless I have more mishaps with readings, but I'm overall very happy with this one and glad I decided to give it a shot.

 

- Crooked Way Gothic Tarot (Duck Soup indie production): I had looked at the Trick or Tarot deck and decided maybe it wasn't quite right for me, but I didnt think to look at the rest of Duck Soup's offerings, so I'm glad someone suggested this thing. It looks amazing! It has kind of the dark vibes of the Bohemian Gothic combined with perhaps a little bit of the Zombie Tarot, which I felt was too lighthearted and fun for my stupidly specific desire, and it seems very readable even though I don't recognise all the characters in the cards. I'm sure the LWB or Google will be helpful should I struggle. I really appreciate that I could see all the cards on their website so I know I'm not getting a pip-deck. This is probably my top contender of the bunch, and the darkest option. I adore it! So good.

 

- Dark Mansion Tarot (Taroteca Studio indie production): I have been obsessed with Bloodborne since September and this reminds me of that game in some way? It scratches the Victorian itch combined with my love for fun, quirky artwork similar to my two beloved Paulina Cassidy decks (Joie de Vivre and the Paulina Tarot), with a hint of Tim Burton and similar doll-like, big-headed art. It's a RWS style deck with imagery that conveys the same meaning without being a clone, which at this point I'm not as interested in anymore. I struggled with my intuition earlier in my tarot practice but now it feels easier to access, so I enjoy something with plenty of detail I can get lost in and associate freely with, while still being able to fall back on my familiar RWS knowledge should I need it. This deck has a lot of detail and colour, which is important to me, looks charming and like something I'd enjoy playing with. Another amazing deck I hope to get my paws on soon.

 

 

This was it for now - the hunt is over and I just need to decide what to get first. Thanks for all your help 🤗

[Niobium]

So, you mentioned Bloodborne, and there IS a Bloodborne deck on Etsy:

 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/594246292/bloodborne-inspired-tarot-complete-deck?ref=shop_home_active_1&crt=1

 

It's a pretty nice looking deck, visuals wise. Ships from Portugal.

 

...oh, but it's a pips deck. Alas! Well anyways.

Edited March 17, 2021 by Niobium

[Page of Ghosts]

On 3/17/2021 at 10:29 PM, Niobium said:

So, you mentioned Bloodborne, and there IS a Bloodborne deck on Etsy:

 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/594246292/bloodborne-inspired-tarot-complete-deck?ref=shop_home_active_1&crt=1

 

It's a pretty nice looking deck, visuals wise. Ships from Portugal.

 

...oh, but it's a pips deck. Alas! Well anyways.

Ack, the Majors are so lovely and from the characters I recognize it does make sense, but I have zero passion for pip decks. Well, at least I enjoyed looking at the Majors 😉

 

I ordered the Duck Soup deck on Thursday. It hasn't shipped yet and I couldn't find much about their delivery times, but I look forward to whenever it shows up in my corner of the world.

[Page of Ghosts]

59 minutes ago, Page of Ghosts said:

Ack, the Majors are so lovely and from the characters I recognize it does make sense, but I have zero passion for pip decks. Well, at least I enjoyed looking at the Majors 😉

 

I ordered the Duck Soup deck on Thursday. It hasn't shipped yet and I couldn't find much about their delivery times, but I look forward to whenever it shows up in my corner of the world.

 

Good grief... I googled the company and came across the controversial oracle deck -the G*lli one 😭 I have read about it but it was so long ago that I had all but forgotten about it - I even believe this was the reason I never bought any of their other decks so many years ago. I curse my useless recollection, scrambled by trauma. I'm not comfortable with this deck now, beautiful as it is, so I'll be attempting to cancel my order. Ugh. Reading about the oracle deck left a really sour taste in my mouth. I believe painful things can be reclaimed, but doing that is up to the people it concerns, not outsiders. It seems to be unavailable right now so that's good, but without any form of acknowledgement of why or that the creator has changed their opinion (should that be the reason for its unavailability) it's very hard for me to get over this glaring issue.

 

I believe no one is beyond redemption, I encourage changing one's mind whenever and I don't wish to hold something someone did in their past against them forever, but the lack of acknowledgement or a present stance about this deck (I could only find the one from barely a few years back, and I know there's been a lot of debates about these kinds of issue since last summer's protests) I can refer to is not an issue I personally can look past. 

 

My card for today was the 10 of Knives from the Vampyres Tarot and it really hurts my heart to let this deck go, but I know it is the right decision for me. I'd only think of that oracle deck when using it. Some things are better left in the past, or in a museum, where they can be displayed with their full context. Sigh.

[Niobium]

9 hours ago, Page of Ghosts said:

 

Good grief... I googled the company and came across the controversial oracle deck -the G*lli one 😭 I have read about it but it was so long ago that I had all but forgotten about it - I even believe this was the reason I never bought any of their other decks so many years ago. I curse my useless recollection, scrambled by trauma. I'm not comfortable with this deck now, beautiful as it is, so I'll be attempting to cancel my order. Ugh. Reading about the oracle deck left a really sour taste in my mouth. I believe painful things can be reclaimed, but doing that is up to the people it concerns, not outsiders. It seems to be unavailable right now so that's good, but without any form of acknowledgement of why or that the creator has changed their opinion (should that be the reason for its unavailability) it's very hard for me to get over this glaring issue.

 

I believe no one is beyond redemption, I encourage changing one's mind whenever and I don't wish to hold something someone did in their past against them forever, but the lack of acknowledgement or a present stance about this deck (I could only find the one from barely a few years back, and I know there's been a lot of debates about these kinds of issue since last summer's protests) I can refer to is not an issue I personally can look past. 

 

My card for today was the 10 of Knives from the Vampyres Tarot and it really hurts my heart to let this deck go, but I know it is the right decision for me. I'd only think of that oracle deck when using it. Some things are better left in the past, or in a museum, where they can be displayed with their full context. Sigh.

.....................oh my GOD I had no idea about this deck and its history. Thank you for making me aware, Page. <huge sigh>

[Page of Ghosts]

6 minutes ago, Niobium said:

.....................oh my GOD I had no idea about this deck and its history. Thank you for making me aware, Page. <huge sigh>

Sigh indeed. I cannot cancel my order so I'll just have to deal with it in some way or another - who knew my search for a dark deck would take such a dark turn. I revived a thread about creators and their influence on their art, especially concerning controversial things like with this company, so maybe people have some good insight or advice. The deck I ordered is not the controversial one, but the creator also made the G*lli Oracle deck in the mid-10's or so, I believe, and it's been in print up until fairly recently, so that's a very unfortunate connection. And so much money to spend too. Ack.

Edited March 20, 2021 by Page of Ghosts

[Page of Ghosts]

It's been almost three months since I last updated the thread, so I though I should do an update and tell you how my quest panned out. A lot has happened and most of it is good news.

 

 

First of all, the Crooked Way Gothic Tarot. Like I wrote, I could not cancel my order so I was left wondering how I could deal with my unease about the deck. After mulling it over for a while I decided that yes, it has an unfortunate association and maybe I would not have bought it if I had remembered or researched it more thoroughly, but now I own the deck and I should at least give it a chance since I liked it so much before being made aware of it again. I haven't gotten around to play a lot with it yet, so I can't say much about how it reads, but it seems to follow the structure of a RWS-tradition deck very closely so I have no problem relating to most of the cards. I need to actually use it more to figure out how I like it, but it feels doable now that I have it. I don't know how much I'll write about it on the forum, but I've decided to not post it on social media. I just don't have the patience or stamina to deal with any potential negative comments, much less explain the circumstances behind me owning it, so I'll just keep this deck and my exploration to myself. I suspect that's what most people who use decks by this company do anyway since I saw so little discussion about it in the first place. I prefer to not get involved in this kind of stuff - avoidance is unfortunately my usual way of dealing with things like this - so in a way I think there was a little bit of character growth on my end when I was forced to go way out of my comfort zone and actually sit with my discomfort. Silver linings and all that.

 

 

 

So, that's it for the Crooked Way Gothic Tarot. As you could probably assume from some of the discussion above I ended up purchasing a physical deck of the Tarot of Vampyres, which I'm overall very happy with. The 90's goth vibes are perfect. I'm tempted to do a little modding to it and blacken the edges, but last time I tried doing that it was such a mess so I'll have to read up on the best way to do it. The book is very good and I much prefer to have a physical version of it instead of scrolling in the app. The Dark Mansion Tarot is still on my list and I'll be happy to snag one of those in the future, but I'm not in a big rush to do so since I have three darker themed decks to work with now. Yes, three decks! Not just two. Finally I am extremely happy to let you all know that I now own my very own Bohemian Gothic Tarot. One of my unicorn decks (possibly The Unicorn since I don't have many OOP decks I dream about) that I never imagined I'd have in my collection unless Baba Studios did a reprint and I was lucky with snagging one. An anonymous forum member reached out and offered their extra copy and I'll be forever grateful. You know who you are ❤️ It's absolutely stunning in person and a true treasure in my collection. I've had some interesting readings with it during the time I've had it and I'm looking forward to do more. So far the cards have been more on point and kind of fun than strictly gothic and spooky, which I think is how I've seen others describe this deck. I'm waiting in excitement for a reprint of the guide book which it seems Baba Studios are interested in doing after the last batch sold out just a few months ago, but in the meantime I have the old Aeclectic study group, the LWB and a special tarot journal for the deck alone I can work with, so I am not in dispair as I wait 😊